A group of teens sneak into the school after dark for ghost hunting, only to run into a serial killer who's been secretly living in the school at night.
This appeared to be much more obscure than other rpgmaker horrors but you can really feel the passion behind the project. And learning that this was a remake makes perfect sense for that. A group of young kids just absolutely falling in love with some indie gem they found and trying to rebuild it from the ground up. And the efforts pay off! The character work and puzzle direction are really well done. While I got stuck a few times, I built such a solid grasp of the level design that I never felt like I was lost in the main building. The only real glitch I ran into was during a cinematic finale moment that takes you through a surreal landscape between the old and new school buildings. I ended up looping through the landscape once or twice because I returned to the old building rather than follow the ghost I was supposed to meet up with. Probably should've blocked that path off I think?
I really enjoyed the protagonist work. Harriet is a silent protagonist, but its clear that this is due to her depression and shyness. She's much more emotionally impacted by the events than she appears and the narrative demonstrates how and why she's been hurting.
The second mode, Emma's story, puts the narrative into shoes of Emma/your hint system. Apparently people didn't like Emma in the original version, but she's incredibly endearing and charming to me in this remake. She's a happy go lucky weirdo, but she's clearly trying to enforce that image to avoid grappling with the surrounding terror of the situation. Her side story dives into that mentality and portrays someone who's seriously denying her own mental health problems. Her story ends up feeling really affirming and powerful in a way I didn't expect. Both modes are really incredible and charmed me in a way I didn't expect.
These sorts of games tend to rely heavily on how the villain is depicted. Initially, Turtle Head didn't particularly grab me as an antagonist. As you learn more about him and how he operates, he starts to become more "real" and terrifying. He's not some mystical spectral energy: he's a absolute creepazoid who loves torturing some kids because they vaguely annoyed his crush that he already murdered. And that's just a much stronger pitch for a villain that I expected going in.
Just sort of been feeling an urge to try some short rpg maker horrors and this one really caught me off guard and wowed me. A good time!
This appeared to be much more obscure than other rpgmaker horrors but you can really feel the passion behind the project. And learning that this was a remake makes perfect sense for that. A group of young kids just absolutely falling in love with some indie gem they found and trying to rebuild it from the ground up. And the efforts pay off! The character work and puzzle direction are really well done. While I got stuck a few times, I built such a solid grasp of the level design that I never felt like I was lost in the main building. The only real glitch I ran into was during a cinematic finale moment that takes you through a surreal landscape between the old and new school buildings. I ended up looping through the landscape once or twice because I returned to the old building rather than follow the ghost I was supposed to meet up with. Probably should've blocked that path off I think?
I really enjoyed the protagonist work. Harriet is a silent protagonist, but its clear that this is due to her depression and shyness. She's much more emotionally impacted by the events than she appears and the narrative demonstrates how and why she's been hurting.
The second mode, Emma's story, puts the narrative into shoes of Emma/your hint system. Apparently people didn't like Emma in the original version, but she's incredibly endearing and charming to me in this remake. She's a happy go lucky weirdo, but she's clearly trying to enforce that image to avoid grappling with the surrounding terror of the situation. Her side story dives into that mentality and portrays someone who's seriously denying her own mental health problems. Her story ends up feeling really affirming and powerful in a way I didn't expect. Both modes are really incredible and charmed me in a way I didn't expect.
These sorts of games tend to rely heavily on how the villain is depicted. Initially, Turtle Head didn't particularly grab me as an antagonist. As you learn more about him and how he operates, he starts to become more "real" and terrifying. He's not some mystical spectral energy: he's a absolute creepazoid who loves torturing some kids because they vaguely annoyed his crush that he already murdered. And that's just a much stronger pitch for a villain that I expected going in.
Just sort of been feeling an urge to try some short rpg maker horrors and this one really caught me off guard and wowed me. A good time!
2 Comments
ALSDKJFA;LF THANK YOU SO MUCH. Part of it is just getting antsy when I'm playing a lengthy 20-40 hour game and needing something short and simple to break it up, part of it is an inability to know when I need to bail on something, but honestly knowing that people are giving these things a shot from my words adds a LOT to my motive to keep trying things and makes me really happy!
poyfuh
2 years ago